1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the technical field of toys and games. More particularly, the present invention relates to a die having at least two variable qualities that randomly change independently of one another upon rolling the die, thereby yielding two randomized outcomes conveying information useful in game play with each roll of the die. Preferably at least one of the variable qualities is the color of the die such that the die changes color in response to sensor-detected acceleration of the die.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Conventional playing dice generally have a cubic structure with faces numbered one through six. The pursuit of novel and entertaining ways to enhance game play has led to the development of dice that incorporate electronic components. For example, some dice are internally illuminated or have electronic displays on their faces.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,181,304 and 4,124,881 disclose dice that containing a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) controlled by a gravity switch in such a way that only the uppermost face of the die is illuminated after each roll. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0268942 accomplishes a similar feat with a mechanical means for orienting the light. Despite the added illumination, such die only have one quality that can be interpreted by a player as a variable quality, namely which of the distinctly numbered die faces is upwardly oriented after rolling the die. Because the illumination of the uppermost face of the die never changes with each roll of the die, it does not contribute any meaning to the result of the die roll for purposes of influencing game play. Notably, the illumination means does not change the color of the die or change the state of any other qualities of the die in a way that influences game play. These dice therefore have only one degree of freedom.
The Critical Hit LED D20 Die, a twenty-sided die that produces illumination only when the face of the die bearing the number 20 is facing up, is similar to the aforementioned patents. Because the behavior of the illumination is dependent only upon the numerical result of any given roll, it is entirely predictable and does not add any further meaning to the information already displayed by the die. Consequently, it does not influence game play. Similarly to the previously discussed dice, the illumination means does not change the color of the die or change the state of any other qualities of the die in a way to influence game play. Therefore the die has only one degree of freedom.
The Soft Assorted Dice by FlashingBlinkyLights are dice-shaped novelty toys embedded with one or more colored LEDs, which flash in response to the movement of the toy. The LEDs flash on and off in a pre-set repeating pattern. As the displayed flash pattern is always the same each time the die is thrown, the flash pattern in itself cannot be interpreted by the player as a variable quality useful in directing game play. Therefore the only random outcome that results from rolling such a die is the number shown on the uppermost die face.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,840 describes a playing die equipped on each face with a seven-segment electronic display, similar to that found on many digital clocks. After each roll, a motion-sensing switch triggers an electronic number generator, which assigns a number to be shown on each face of the die. Similarly, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,017,905 and 7,334,791 disclose dice with flashing LEDs arranged on each die face in the form of a number. These dice, however, are effectively no different than a conventional six-sided die in that it only conveys a single random numerical variable between one and six, and therefore only displays information consistent with a standard die as a result of each roll. They do not have two or more independently changing variable qualities that produce random outcomes for influencing game play.